And I Know Me
by bhfirewife
Summary: Syd and Nige have a fight and Nigel walks out?A Song Fic to George Strait's If I Know Me Please read and I hope that you enjoy.


I'll admit this probably not my best work, but what do u expect for starting at 11 pm and working for the next 2.5-3 hours only on it...lol.

Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the people of the Relic Hunter Universe (or the song "If I Know Me" sung by Geogre Strait)...I was just messing around with them... grin

* * *

"Bloody hell, Sydney!" Nigel said. He never would understand the need for her to always put the search and recovery of a relic over her safety. It was driving him crazy...the worry for her well-been while they were on a hunt. He knew that she took his safety to heart, but what about herself...he couldn't even get her to listen to bloody reason.

"Nigel.." Sydney started, but was surprised when he interrupted her.

"NO! We have only just returned form a dead end lead, we were almost killed! There's no way I agree we should go on another lead today without knowing what we are after." He ran his fingers through his hair combing it out of his face. "At least give us time to get a decent rest and some research done." He had hardly slept in the last 5 days and knew that she had less then he did. Nobody else would have seen it in her, but they had been working together for 4 years and had spent a lot of time together over that time. He was not going to let his best friend go anywhere when she was as tired as he had ever seen her.

"We can't let the trail go cold.."

"To bloody hell with the trail, Syd! What is the trail going to mean when we have worked ourselves sick...or dead?" She thought she might have seen a flicker of fear in his eyes for a brief second, but anger quickly replaced it again.

"You can work yourself like that, but..." he was suddenly deflated, "I can't...I can't do it anymore..." _...it's too hard_ _...watching you like this when all I want to do is hold you and never let you go._ All he wanted to do was comfort her but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that he wasn't what she wanted in a man. He had seen all those tostestrone pumped guys that she had dated, hard not to when they seemed to turn up like bad pennies on hunts.

"Nigel?" Sydney asked, afraid of what it was he was getting at. "What are you saying?"

"I...I can't continue running around the world with you when you can't take care of yourself. I know we are a team out there when we're hunting relics, but there is only so much I can do for you. I can't make you see when your body needs sleep or food. God knows I try! But I can't continue down this path of self destruction that you are on." Nigel grabbed his backpack from beside the door to Sydney's place, "good-bye Syd. It's been an adventure, but a body can only handle so much adventure before it shuts down from misuse. I'll have my letter of resignation to you as soon as I can." He could feel his eyes welling with tears, but he blinked them back and opened her front door.

"GOOD!" Sydney shouted at him, "maybe without having to keep your ass out of trouble I won't have to work so hard!"

The young man's head jerked up and she couldn't miss the look of hurt that crossed his face. "Well then _Professor _Fox, I hope then that you should be better able to look after yourself. I just hope that the next poor sap that you hire as your assistant will better be able to handle themself so that you won't have to spend so much of your energy on them rather on your own well-being." He couldn't understand how they can come to this, he had just wanted her to get some sleep and be more refreshed when they headed out. It was tearing his heart out that she felt that he was such a drain on her energy. He couldn't keep the hurt and sadness out of his eyes as he looked at the woman that he loved with all his being as he stepped out her door. _Good-bye, My Love._

He climbed into the car that they had rented to get back from the airport in. He backed out of her driveway and started to just drive, trying to figure out what exactly he was going to do now. He didn't want to quit his position as Sydney Fox's TA...but it seemed that he was more trouble to her than he was worth. They had wanted quiet on the ride back from to Sydney's house to talk, so the radio of the car was off. He turned it on, not even knowing what station it was set for. He glanced at the digital readout and saw that it was on one of the local country music stations, he was hurting too much to list to that right now. He was about to change the station when he first the first words to the song that was just starting...

::We both said some things I know we never meant::

_Well, I know I didn't mean anything that I had said but trying to get her to get some rest._ Then he had started wondering. _Did she mean it all?_

::And when I slammed the door tonight you wondered where I went::

_Did she really care at this point???_

* * *

In Sydney's house she stood there stunned, staring at the door that her best friend had just walked out of. What had she been thinking??? How could she have said those things??? She hadn't meant any of it and didn't know where the thoughts to say them came from. She made her way into her front room and turned her Stereo on and started to search through the stations for one that fit her mood at this moment. Then she heard the same words that were being played in a car out somewhere in the streets of town, she didn't know Nigel was listening to that same song, and she didn't know where he was heading.

::If I know you, you're probably wonderin what to do  
You're thinkin that I'm gone for good, if I know you::

Her thoughts went straight to her fight with Nigel, it seemed so fitting for her feelings. _Where are you Nigel? Did I really push you way?? _Then she remembered the look on his face when he left. He looked like he had just lost his best friend. _Oh god!_ Then she remembered seeing sadness and the hurt that was on his face...and the love???

* * *

::If I know me, I'll turn this car around  
I won't get halfway through town, and I'll be sorry::

Nigel had pulled into an empty parking lot and just sat there. He realized that like the singer of the song, he wasn't half way through town from Syd's and he was regretting the fight he had with her.

::I'll stop and call, and you'll say you're sorry too  
And I'll come runnin' back to you, if I know me::

_Damn it!_ He knew he had hurt her about as much as she had hurt him with the bullshit that he had been saying. He couldn't just leave it at that...he had to apologize to her. He reached for his backpack from the seat next to him and pulled out his cell phone. He opened it and was about to dial her number when the blasted piece of wonderful technology turned off on it's own accord because the battery died. Nigel groaned. "Wonderful, just bloody wonderful!" he tossed it back into the bag. Looking around the parking lot he saw a payphone not far away. He drove closer to it because of the time of night, he didn't feel safe walking across and empty lot.

He got out of the car and dialed the numbers to Sydney's house. All he got was a busy signal. His heart about broke all over again. He decided that he would give her a few minutes then try again...but he wouldn't sit here all night and wait to get through.

* * *

_Love???_ Did Nigel love her and she not see it? Then she thought back over the times that they had spent together. That's when it hit her how many times she saw that look in his eyes when she looked at him when he didn't think she was. He did love her!!!

She remembered what she had said to him and realized that she had said too many things that were hurtful and totally untrue. She had pushed him away.

::Sometimes I lose my head, say things to break your heart  
Forgettin if I lost your love, it would tear my world apart::

The thought that she had lost Nigel because of her own foolishness stuck her. She reached for her phone and quickly dialed his cell phone and got the recording that it was turned off. _What the hell??? He never turns it off._ _Maybe he just want to talk to me..._

What had she done!?!?!

Her next thought almost knocked the wind out of her. If he turned his phone off because he didn't want to hear from her, he must have really meant that he was going to leave. Her heart started to break...she was going to loose him for good...her best friend...her...love... she hadn't wanted to admit it to herself but she did love him, but she did. She knew it for a while, but was in denial because she was sure that he couldn't love her.

She was surprised when tears spilled down her cheeks, she realize that they were in her eyes.

She slide down the wall that she had been leaning against and pulled her legs up and put her forehead on her knees and let the tears roll freely.

* * *

::If I know you, you didn't mean one single thing you said  
Truth be known, you're dyin, cryin, lyin there in bed::

Nigel couldn't help but grin a bit at that line. Sydney cry? Yeah right. He knew she felt emotions, but she didn't show weakness, he understood that. It was hard for her to be taken seriously as a relic hunter if she was seen as weak.

::But if I know me, I'll turn this car around  
I won't get halfway through town, and I'll be sorry::

Nigel dialed Sydney's number again. This time it rang and he suddenly didn't know what he was going to say. He just knew that he couldn't leave her with the last words he said were in anger.

The phone rang three times before it was answered. "Hello?"

Nigel was stunned, was Sydney crying? "Syd???"

"Nigel?!"

"Syd...listen..."

::I'll stop and call, and you'll say you're sorry too::

"I'm sorry! I didn't meant what I said Nigel! Please...forgive me...even if you don't want to stay...forgive me..." she broke down into sobs that tore his heart out to listen to. He hung up the phone, jumped in the car and drove.

::And I'll come runnin back to you, if I know me::

* * *

Sydney couldn't believe it when she answered the phone and heard his lovely voice on the other end. She was about to tell him that she loved him when she realized that the dial tone was coming from her phone. He had hung up on her? That hurt her even more and she cried even harder.

She didn't know how long she had sat there crying when there was a know on her door. It was late, and no need for anybody to be here for a social visit, but she didn't care. Without Nigel in her life she couldn't care if all their enemies were outside her door waiting to kill her. If it eased the pain in her heart she would welcome it. She opened the door after whoever was there knocked again.

::If I know me,::

* * *

Nigel knocked on the door again, growing worried. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the door opened and he saw the tear stained face of Sydney look at him in shock. He held up his cell phone, open, I would have called to say I was coming over, but my phone died. He gave her a small smirk, but it did not reach his sad eyes.

Despite the tears that she was crying and the hurt that she had felt, she was over joyed to see the man that she loved standing in her doorway. She smiled at him laughed lightly and said "That would explain the phone turned off message I got when I called you."

"Syd, I'm sorry. I didn't mean everything I said tonight. I was...am...worried about you. You rarely eat and hard sleep on some of these hunts. I like to know that you take at least a little time for yourself between them."

Sydney started to cry again. Nigel wrapped his arms around her in comfort. "You don't want to leave me?"

"Of course not...but..." She had not said that she didn't want him to stay.

"Good. I don't think I would have accepted your resignation if you had handed it in?"

Relief filled him, she wanted him to stay.

"Nige?"

"Yeah Syd?"

She pulled back to be able to look fully into his eyes when she said what she wanted to say next so that he could see that she meant it. "I love you, I don't want to loose you to my pride again."

"Syd...I..." She put her finger over his lips.

"Let me finish. The words I said...pushing the hunt for this relic...it's all been because of my pride. I don't want to lose to someone else...but I realized tonight that the real relic that I don't want to loose is the man who holds my heart...you."

Nigel didn't know what to say. Sydney just truly said that she loved him? His heart was about to explode from happiness. He couldn't top the feeling to her words, so he filled his look to her with his love for her, "I love you too, Syd."

They leaned in closer and kissed. It wasn't the first kiss that they had shared, but it was by far the best. They were not sure if it was because of their level of exhaustion, how close their feelings were to the surface, or because they just revealed their feelings for each other.

Sydney and Nigel ended the kiss and they both were suddenly feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. They made their way to her front room, turning the few lights that were on off and locking her door. Sydney turned off the radio and Nigel sat on her couch. She sat next to him and they snugged together. And there they feel asleep and when they woke up next, they moved to her bed and slept the rest of the day away. Each happy in the arms of the one that they love.

::and I know me ::


End file.
